4th May 2020

The number of daily coronavirus deaths in the UK has fallen to its lowest level since the end of March. A total of 288 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, with 229 of these occurring in UK hospitals, significantly lower than the peak of over 700 daily deaths seen throughout much of early April.

In Harborough, a total of four deaths have been attributed to the virus.

Fittingly, as VE Day (Victory in Europe) approaches, it appears the UK may be over the worst. Perhaps in years to come, we will celebrate a new kind of VE Day, Virus Elimination Day!

The government has been distributing home testing kits to key workers and their families, care home residents, and over-65s in an effort to meet the target of 100,000 tests per day. However, Dr Gary Marlowe, London chair of the British Medical Association, has expressed concerns about the accuracy of self-administered tests. He warns that people may not swab correctly, stating:

“To collect a sample of the virus in their system, patients need to scrape a long swab against their tonsils and push it into their nose until it meets resistance. Doing this oneself is really uncomfortable and difficult. My concern is that a significant portion of these tests will be useless, meaning many people may receive a negative result despite actually carrying the virus.”

Coincidentally, Sarah received her coronavirus test kit in the post today. Hopefully, she will follow the instructions carefully, and the result will come back negative.

We woke to a very foggy morning in Harborough. The air had a nasty chill as I set off on my bike ride, and unsurprisingly, there were very few people braving the cold. On Mondays, I usually take a detour via Lubenham to collect Peter’s mail, but today there was none.

To my surprise, Peter rang me from New Zealand a few hours later. He had been due to fly back to the UK on Wednesday, but his flight was cancelled due to the pandemic. He hopes to return as soon as flights resume, but Qantas won’t deal with him directly since I booked his original tickets. I promised to sort it out for him today, and he will call again tomorrow. In the end, Qantas was very generous, refunding the cost of both flights and waiving the rebooking fee. Now, Peter just needs to decide on a return date.

Sue made two delicious cottage pies, one went into the freezer, while most of the other went into my stomach, with a little left over for the cook.

I also received a message that Bridget has her flight tickets and will be flying home to Jim in Cyprus tomorrow at noon. Fingers crossed that all goes smoothly!

The weather improved in the afternoon as the clouds parted and the warmth of the sun became noticeable. Sue and I took a walk through the fields on Farndon Hill, which offered us a wonderful view of the town below. Harborough in spring, fresh green leaves emerging between rows of red and grey buildings beneath a bright blue sky, is a truly lovely sight. It’s easy to see why several magazines list it among the ten most desirable places to live in the UK each year.

We returned just as Welland Park School was releasing its pupils, children of essential workers, who, surprisingly, were dressed in their usual school uniforms, with some wearing masks. Normally, they stream out of the gates like a swarm of locusts, but today, only a small trickle of socially distanced individuals emerged.

There is little other family news of interest. Most seem busy with work, playing word games, or doing jigsaws throughout the day. However, Sarah did paint the summer house and its decking.

5th May 2020

Depressingly, it has been reported that there have now been over 30,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK since the start of the pandemic, the highest official toll recorded in Europe so far.

Meanwhile, trials have begun on a new coronavirus contact tracing app, which ministers claim will save lives and help ease the country out of lockdown. NHS and council staff on the Isle of Wight are being encouraged to download the Covid-19 smartphone app from today, with the rest of the island’s residents invited to follow from Thursday. If successful, the app could be rolled out nationwide within weeks, as the government seeks to implement a strategy that will allow some economic activity to resume. The long-awaited “roadmap” for easing lockdown is set to be published on Sunday.

We shall have to wait and see whether this initiative, used successfully in other countries, will help reduce the appalling death toll.

To my mind, a smartphone app would not be proactive enough to reduce case numbers as quickly as necessary. Too many people either do not own smartphones or lack the technological know-how to install and use such an app properly. Unfortunately, the generation that would benefit the most falls into this very category. Additionally, Bluetooth technology drains batteries, and a dead phone is useless.

A better solution would be to simplify and legislate. The government should develop and distribute a simple bracelet to all citizens, which must be worn when away from home during a government-mandated period, such as a pandemic. Failure to comply would result in being denied entry to public venues and incurring a fine.

The bracelet would contain Bluetooth to detect other bracelets, GPS to track location, memory to store encounter data, and a dedicated SIM to transmit information to a central server. Most of these features already exist in smartwatches. The only data required would be the SIM identifier (which authorities could link to its owner) and the GPS location when a Bluetooth connection was made.

Ideally, the bracelet would have a small display that illuminates as follows:

• GREEN – You are uninfected and have not been near anyone infected.
• ORANGE – You have been in contact with someone who tested positive (a Red bracelet) or with another Orange bracelet, meaning you must take a test as soon as possible.
• RED – You have tested positive or failed to take a test within 48 hours of an Orange alert.

Bracelets could only be reset to GREEN after a negative test. To enter a shop, pub, restaurant, or other venue, individuals would need to show their bracelet, simple!

A central system would process the data received from bracelets, including the owner’s SIM, a record of encountered SIMs, and the locations where contact occurred. This minimal dataset would be transmitted at regular intervals while the bracelet is worn, with immediate transmission triggered if an ORANGE or RED SIM is detected.

Central software compares all the SIMS met and returns a GREEN, ORANGE or RED signal to the bracelet depending on the outcome.

All the user has to do is remember to plug in the charger and wear it when leaving home. And of course, check the colour.

Well, what else is there to think about during long lockdown days, if not saving the world? It kept my slowly stagnating mind occupied for a good portion of a chilly day, and I feel much better for it! It’s just a shame that the rest of my body continues to creak and groan, and no amount of exercise seems to help.

Sue, meanwhile, blitzed our already tidy garden with yet another lengthy spell of clearing up. Where does she keep finding the rubbish to fill her plastic bags? I swear she’s either raiding the neighbours’ bins or having it delivered by Amazon while I’m out cycling!

Apart from my morning ride and a bit of vegetable watering, the most exercise (and useful activity) I managed today was stroking Millie, the three-legged cat. We are developing quite a bond. Today, we could both regularly be seen hopping around the garden, having a chat and a scratch whenever we found a warm, sheltered spot.

Late in the afternoon, after Millie went home for tea, I had a look at my DNA profile online. Apparently, I am:

• 68.9% Irish, Scottish, and Welsh
• 14.2% Eastern European
• 11.7% English
• 5.2% West Asian

The Welsh comes from my mother, but I’m surprised my father’s Yorkshire heritage only accounts for 11% English. On reflection, his skin was never particularly pale; he always seemed to have a tan, winter and summer. As a miner, I’d always put it down to the coal embedded in his flesh, but perhaps I was wrong?

6th May 2020

Italian researchers claim to have developed a vaccine that can neutralise the coronavirus in human cells. Tests carried out at Rome’s infectious disease Spallanzani Hospital generated antibodies in mice that work in human cells. Great news.

Market Harborough’s tip will re-open on Monday, 18th, on an appointment-only basis. People will have to book a 15-minute slot in advance to limit numbers and maintain social distancing. A welcome move, but I suspect chaos will ensue on the road outside as cars queue up. Inevitably, some will miss their time slot because others turned up early, not wanting to miss theirs. A much safer system would be to allow even-numbered car registrations on one day and odd numbers the next. Without a strict time slot, people couldn’t panic or get irate about missing it; they’d have the choice of either waiting patiently or trying later.

Over the next three days, a temporary drive-through coronavirus testing facility will open in the car park of Harborough Leisure Centre. The appointment-only service is being run by the Army and will operate from the site off Northampton Road. Essential workers or members of their family displaying COVID-19 symptoms can book a slot. Another welcome initiative, and with the Army present, I doubt there’ll be any queue-jumpers or openly irate customers. It’s a car park, Sue and I will be avoiding!

Today was warm and sunny. Sue completed a jigsaw, added to the ever-growing pile of garden rubbish in the garage, and popped into Savers in town for supplies.

I repeated a cycling route from last week and, to my delight, found the front mudguard from my bike, which had fallen off as I negotiated a stile between fields. It had been lying there all that time, waiting. What a great start to the day!

Another row of peas was sown, and six pots of coriander were planted up. In the afternoon, Sue and I went for a walk to see the Judith Stone. Around 1066, William the Conqueror granted part of this area, including much of Lubenham, to his niece, Countess Judith, and it is believed the stone is named after her. While it isn’t as impressive as other ‘mysterious’ rocks, such as Stonehenge, it still has an undeniable air of history. This solid piece of rock has witnessed much over the millennia.

On the way back, we came across a trailer carrying newborn lambs and their mothers, just as the farmer was about to release them into the field, an exciting moment for three wide-eyed, woolly little ones.